Paper machine drier



P 1950 B. A. MALKIN 2,521,735

PAPER MACHINE DRIER Filed Oct. 4, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m W i7 FIG. 1

N NTOR BA. KIN

ATTORNEY Sept. 12, 1950 B. A. MALKIN 2,521,735

PAPER MACHINE DRIER Filed Oct. 4, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l vI! Will! INVENTOR B-A-MALKIN ATTORN EYS iatented Sept. 12, 1359 PAPER MACHINE DRIER Bernard A. Malkin, Lachine, Quebec, Canada, as-

signor to Dominion Engineering Works Limited, Lachine, Quebec, Canada,

Application October 4, 1948, Serial No. 52,643

2 Claims. (Cl. 34-121) 1 This invention vrelates to paper machine dryers in which the dryer cylinders are driven by a train of intermeshing gears enclosed by a gear housing assembly separate from-and mounted independently of the dryer frame in which the spindles of the dryer cylinders are journalled.

In the usual dryer of the type to which this invention relates one end of each dryer cylinder spindle projects beyond the gear side of the 'dryer frame into the gear casing through aspindlereceiving opening large enough to provide for relative movement between the spindle and the independently mounted gear housing. The spindles of the lower dryer cylinders are provided with gears meshing with intermediate gears jour-. nalled in the gear housing to'provide a continu-' ous horizontal gear train interconnecting all of said lower dryer cylinders. dryer cylinders is equippedv with a spindle gear meshing with an idler gear driven by an inter-. mediate gear of said continuous horizontal gear train. The spindle and intermediate gears of Each of the upper the continuous horizontal gear train interoon- I necting the lower dryer cylinders are individually enclosed by communicating gear casing sections rigidly connected to each other to conjointly provide the lower part of the gear housing. The spindle and idler gears driving each upp r cyl- Enclosed dryer gear drives ofthe particular type described herein have wellknown advantages which justify their continued use despite occasional serious stoppages and breakdowns caused by jamming or breaking of the driving gears. This jamming or breaking of the driving gears is caused mainly by displacement of thecenters of the intermediate housing-carried gears relative to the centers of the intermeshing spindle-carried gears and is the result of the cumulative effect of expansion and contraction of the gear casing sections which are rigidly connected together to provide the continuous housing enclosing the spindle and intermediate gears of the lower dryer cylinders. In this connection it will be understood that the intermediate and idler gears through which the spindle gears are driven are journalled in gear casing sections of the gear housing so that axial displacement of the intermediate gears relative to the spindle gears of the lower row of cylinders results from the cumulative effect of expansion and contraction of the connected gear casing sections enclosing said intermediate and spindle gears.

According to the present invention the aforesaid jamming and breakage of the driving gears is eliminated or reduced to a minimum by a relativelysimple re-arrangement of the component spindle-driving gears of the gear train and the component sections of the gear casing in which the spindle-driving gears are journalled.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig.1 is a view, in side elevation, of a portion of the gear side of a dryer constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

- In these drawings I have shown only a portion of the frame structure and dryer cylinders of a conventional dryer which may be of any desired length and may include any desired number of upper and lower dryer cylinders arranged in the usual manner with the upper cylinders staggered relative to the lower cylinders.

The upper row of dryer cylinders is represented by cylinders 9 and the lower row by cylinders l0. At each side of the dryer the spindles ll of the dryer cylinders are journalled in .ings enclosing said gears are arranged so that I the complete gear housing conjointly formed by said gear casings comprises upper, lower and intermediate horizontal rows of housing sections with the housing sections of each row spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the dryer, the housing sections of the intermediate row being connected to housing sections of the upper and lower rows and being staggered with respect to the gap separating the component housing sections of said upper and lower rows. As hereinafter pointed out this arrangement of the cylinder driving gears and their enclosing casings provides a gear housing structure in which the spacing of the housing sections of the upper and lower rows eliminates the cumulative effect of the expansion and contraction of said housing sections as a factor tending to cause excessive displacement of the cylinder driving gears journalled in said housing sections relative to the intermeshing spindle gears carried by the spindles of the dryer cylinders.

3 In the embodiment selected for illustration the spindle of the first upper dryer cylinder 9 shown at the left in Fig. 1 carries a gear [5 enclosed by a gear casing I6 which constitutes a component housing section of the aforesaid upper row of housing sections. The first spindle gear i5 is driven by an idler gear l1 contained in a gear casing I8 constituting one of the aforesaid intermediate housing sections. The idler gear I1 meshes with a gear IScontained in a gear casing 20 which supports and is fastened to the idler gear casing [8. Gear 19 meshes with the spindle gear 2| of the first lower dryer cylinder l0. Spindle gear 2| meshes with an intermediate gear 22 which also meshes with a spindle gear 23 carried by the spindle of the second lower dryer cylinder I5. The gear casing 20 enclosing gear I9 is rigidly secured to gear casing 24 enclosing spindle gear 2|. Gear casing 24 is also rigidly secured to gear casing 25 enclosing intermediate gear 22 and gear casing 25 is, in turn, rigidly secured to gear casing 26 enclosing spindle gear 23. The gear casings 20, 24, and 25 conjointly form one of the lower row of spaced housing sections previously referred to. In this case it will be seen that the first housing section of the lower row is composed of individual communicating gear casings rigidly secured together to conjointly enclose the component gears of a relatively short gear train interconnecting and driving the first two dryer cylinders of the lower row of cylinders.

The intermediate gear 22 meshes with an idler gear 21 which, in turn, meshes with a spindle gear 28 carried by the spindle of the second upper dryer cylinder 9. The idler gear 21 is enclosed by a gear casing 29 having its lower portion rigidly fastened to gear casing 25 and its upper portion rigidly fastened to the lower portion of a gear casing 30 enclosing spindle gear 28. The last mentioned spindle gear meshes with an intermediate gear 3| which, in turn, meshes with a spindle gear 32 carried by the third upper dryer cylinder 9. Spindle gear 32 meshes with an intermediate gear 33 which, in turn, meshes with a spindle gear 34 carried by the spindle of the fourth upper dryer cylinder 9. Gears 3|, 32', 33 and 34 are individually enclosed by gear casings 35, 36, 31 and 38 which are rigidly secured to each other and to gear casing 30 to form the second housing section of the upper row of spaced housing sections.

Spindle gear 34 mesheswith an idler gear 39 which, in turn, meshes with an intermediate gear 40 located between and meshing with spindle gears 4| and 42 carried respectively by the spindles of the third and fourth lower dryer cylinders III.

The spindle gear 42 meshes with a further gear 43 which drives an idler gear 44 meshing with a spindle gear 45 carried by the spindle,

of the fifth upper drying cylinder 9. The gears 4|, 40, 42 and 43 are respectively enclosed by individual gear casings 46, 41, 48 and 49 which are rigidly secured together in side by side relation to form a second housing section of the lower row of spaced housing sections previously referred enclosed by gear casings 52 and 53 which are rigidly secured to .each other and to gear casing 49.

The spindle gear 45 of the fifth upper dryer cylinder Smay be connected to the spindle gears of succeeding upper dryer cylinders by a gear train composed of gears arranged and housed in the manner described in connection with the second, third and fourth upper dryer cylinders and this method of gearing together upper and lower dryer cylinders in groups may be continued throughout the length of the dryer with any desired number of dryer cylinders included in each group subject to the provision that the length of the housing section enclosing the gear train of each group should be kept within suitable limits so that the cumulative eifect of expansion and contraction of the component gear casings of said housing section will not cause undue displacementof the gears journalled in said casing sections relative to the spindle gears.

From the foregoing description and showing of Fig. 1 it will be seen that the upper and lower dryer cylinders are geared together in groups with the gearing and housing of each group spaced from the gearing and housing of the adjacent group or groups in the same row. It is esse tial that certain housing sections of the upper and lower rows should each enclose a gear train interconnecting two or more dryer cylinders but several housing sections of an upper or lower row may enclose only the spindle gear of a single dryer cylinder as represented, for example, by the upper housing section enclosing the spindle gear of the first upper dryer cylinder 9 shown in the present drawings. Considering the first lower housing section conjointly formed by the gear casings 20, 24, 25 and 26, it may be pointed out that horizontal expansion and contraction of the housing section formed by these gear casings is not sufiicient to cause undesirable displacement of the gears l9 and 22 with reference to the spindle carried gears 2| and 23. It will also be seen that since the lower housing section conjointly formed by gear casings 20, 24, 25 and 2G is spaced from the next lower housing section conjointly formed by the gear casings 46, 41, 48 and 49, the cumulative effect of expansion and contraction of these two spaced housing sections is not applied to the gears journalled therein. The same is true of the spaced housing sections of the upper row shown in the present drawings.

Having thus described the nature of my invention and a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a paper machine dryer assembly, a frame structure, upper and lower rows of dryer cylinders equipped with spindles J'ournalled in said frame structure, corresponding ends of said spindles being each provided with a spindle gear rigidly secured thereto, additional gears forming, with said spindle gears, a gear train interconnecting all of said dryer cylinders, gear casings individually enclosing component gears of said gear train and rigidly connected together in communicating relationship to conjointly provide a continuous gear housing consisting of upper, lower and intermediate rows of gear housing sections with the housing sections of each row spaced part in the longitudinal direction of the dryer and with each housing section of the intermediate row connected to housing sections of the upper and lower rows and means supporting said continuous gear housing independently of said frame structure,

said assembly being further characterized in that each of said additional gears is rotatably supported by its enclosing gear casing.

2. In a paper machine dryer assembly, a frame structure. upper and lower rows of dryer cylinders equipped with spindles journalled in said frame structure, gearing interconnecting corresponding ends of the spindles of all of said cylinders, said gearing comprising an upper series of spaced gear trains each interconnecting the spindles Of a group of upper dryer cylinders, a lower series of spaced gear trains each interconnesting the spindles of a group of lower dryer cylinders, idler gears through which the gear trains of the upper series are geared to gear trains of the lower series and intermeshing spindle and idler gears through which certain cylinders of the upper row are individually driven from gear trains of the lower series and gear casings individually enclosing the component gears of said gearing and rigidly secured together to provide upper and lower rows of spaced gear housing sec- REFERENCES GITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,730,082 Malkin Oct. 1, 1929 2,126,486 Malkin Aug. 9, 1938 

